The Next ChaptHER

What It Really Means to Regulate (and Why It’s Not Just Breathing)

In this episode of The Next ChaptHER, I’m pulling back the curtain on what nervous system regulation really looks like — especially when you're walking through something hard in real time.

Mindset matters — but it doesn’t work alone.

To think clearly, stay grounded, and show up for yourself (and others) when life gets messy, you need tools that bring you back to your center in the moment — not just after the chaos ends.

I’m sharing:

• What regulation actually means (spoiler: it's not just breathwork and candles)

• Unexpected ways I regulate in real life — from binge-watching to city walks

• What I did in the middle of a medical procedure to calm my nervous system

• Why regulation is about choosing your response — not controlling your emotions

• The one question I ask my clients (and myself) when everything feels like too much

Whether you're navigating illness, burnout, parenting, recovery, or just regular life — this conversation is here to help you pause, reconnect, and come back to you.

Links + Resources:

📝 Read more real-time reflections on my Substack:
The Next ChaptHER Substack

🎧 Listen to my go-to playlist for emotional regulation and strength:
Hit Play on J.O.Y. – Spotify Playlist
(Or search Hit Play on J.O.Y. on Spotify!)

🧭 Take the Lifestyle & Mindset Assessment I use with clients:
Roadmap Back to J.O.Y. Assessment

💬 Let me know what resonated — DM me on Instagram @fullyinformedlifecoaching or share your thoughts on Substack.

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✨ If this episode helped you feel seen or supported, pass it on to a friend or take a minute to leave a quick review. Every share helps more women find their way back to themselves.

Mindset in the Messy Middle: How I’m Staying Grounded through Breast Cancer

Mindset isn’t about being strong all the time — it’s about staying present enough to choose your next step, even in the middle of the mess.

Back in March, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

In May, I had a double mastectomy.

And as of today — I’m still healing. Still a patient. Still navigating all the physical, emotional, and mental layers of recovery.

In this episode of The Next ChaptHER, I’m not speaking from the “other side.”

I’m sharing the mindset tools I’m using right now — in real time — to stay grounded when my nervous system wants to spin out.

This is for any woman navigating her own version of the messy middle — whether it’s health, identity, burnout, loss, or transition.

You’ll hear:

• What it really looks like to regulate your mindset during uncertainty
  
  
• How I use music, breath, humor, and intentional rituals to stay grounded
  
  
• The difference between feeling your feelings vs. living in victim mode
  
  
• Why I start all my clients with the ELI Lifestyle & Mindset Assessment
  
  
• How mindset work doesn’t erase fear — it gives you tools to move through it
  
  

Plus, I share real moments from my journey as I actively work to stay grounded and in control.

If you’ve ever said, “This sucks… why me?” — and then wondered how to keep going anyway — this episode is for you.

🔗 Links & Resources:

🧠 Explore your own mindset lens:

Lifestyle & Mindset Assessment: Your Roadmap Back to J.O.Y.

📝 Follow my raw, behind-the-scenes healing journey on Substack:

The Next ChaptHER on Substack

🎧 Listen to the playlists that helped me regulate during this season:

• These Girls Are For Fighting
• Zen AF - These Girls Are For Fighting

📩 Let this episode be your reminder: you are not powerless. Even in the hardest chapters, you still get to choose your lens.

Thanks for being here — and walking this road with me.

The Chapter I Didn’t Plan For — A Personal Catch-Up

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a new episode — and today, I’m sharing exactly why.

Back on March 28th, my life flipped unexpectedly with a breast cancer diagnosis. What followed was a blur of appointments, second opinions, doctors, and decisions I never thought I’d have to make. On May 27th, I underwent a double mastectomy — and while the physical healing is underway, the emotional healing is still very much in process.

In this episode, I’m catching you up on what’s been happening behind the scenes — the messy middle, the mental gymnastics, and what happens when life hands you a new chapter you didn’t choose.

This is real life. This is where I am. And this is exactly what The Next ChaptHER was always meant to be — conversations from inside the middle, not just once we’ve landed on the other side.

✨ If you want to follow more of my journey in real time, you can head over to my Substack where I’ve been writing and sharing the behind-the-scenes of this season:

👉 The Next ChaptHER on Substack: https://thenextchapther.substack.com/

Ways to stay connected:

• Follow me on Instagram: @fullyinformedlifecoaching & @thenextchapther
  
  
• Learn more about my coaching and resources: https://www.fullyinformedlife.com
  

🎧 New guest episodes and deeper conversations are coming soon — stay tuned!

How to Manage Your Time, Part 2: The CEO Method for Clarity, Energy, and Ownership

We’re back with part 2 of our time management series—and this one’s a game changer. I’m sharing my CEO Method for time: a simple yet powerful framework that helps you lead your time with Clarity, Energy, and Ownership.

Because managing your time isn’t about squeezing more in—it’s about making intentional choices that honor your energy, your needs, and your priorities in this season of life.

In this episode, we cover:
✅ Why clarity is the foundation of managing your time
✅ How to work with your energy, not against it
✅ How to step into ownership of your calendar, commitments, and choices
✅ Why time management isn’t about productivity—it’s about power

✨ A quick note from me:
You may have noticed a little gap in episodes recently. Earlier this week, I shared a personal update explaining what’s been going on behind the scenes. If you haven’t listened yet, check it out to hear more.

📝 Mentioned in this episode:

• Download the CEO Time Method Worksheet:
  
  
• Learn more about The Next ChaptHER Circle
  
  

If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to share it with a friend or tag me on Instagram @fullyinformedlifecoaching—it helps more women find their roadmap back to J.O.Y.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review so you never miss an episode!

A Plot Twist I Never Saw Coming

This isn’t the episode I expected to record. It’s not the topic I had planned. But here we are—and in true Next ChaptHER fashion, I’m showing up and sharing it with you.

Just days before my 48th birthday, I got a phone call that changed everything.

In this episode, I’m opening up about this unexpected chapter, why you haven’t heard a new podcast in a few weeks, and how I’m navigating this plot twist in real time—both personally and as a coach.

I share:
✅ What’s been paused (and what hasn’t)
✅ Why using my voice has become my lifeline
✅ How two podcast guests turned friends created a walking challenge in my honor
✅ How I’m choosing to keep showing up—one step at a time

If you’re navigating your own plot twist right now, I hope this episode reminds you:
You don’t have to be brave every single day.
You don’t have to perform strength for anyone else.
You always have a choice.

💬 I’d love to walk this chapter with you:
👉 Follow my raw, unfiltered journey on Substack: These Girls Are For Fighting
👉 Join the Fight Club Walking Challenge: Sign up here
👉 Listen to the Fight Song Playlist on Apple Music or Spotify 

Thank you for being part of my Fight Club. Thank you for walking beside me. And thank you for sticking around as I figure out this new chapter—one moment, one choice, one step at a time.

❤️ If this episode resonated, share it with a friend or tag me @fullyinformedlifecoaching so more women know they’re not alone.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next.

What “I Don’t Have Time” Really Means (Time Series, Part 1)

If you’ve ever said, “I don’t have time,” this one’s for you. In this honest and energizing episode, Andrea unpacks the phrase so many midlife women use—and what it’s actually saying about our priorities.

Spoiler: it’s not about the hours in the day. It’s about reclaiming your power and finally putting yourself on your own damn to-do list.

This episode was recorded before Andrea received her breast cancer diagnosis, making this conversation even more personal. The reminder to schedule your own appointments, check in with your body, and stop putting yourself last has never felt more urgent or real. You can read more about that part of her story here:

👉 Read: Where’s My Game Plan? on Substack

🔄 This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on reclaiming your time and energy in midlife. Stay tuned for Part 2, where Andrea walks you through her CEO Method to Time Management: Clarity, Energy, Ownership.

🔑 What You’ll Learn:

• Why “I don’t have time” is often code for deeper mindset blocks
  
  

• The real reason women tend to everyone else’s needs before their own
  
  

• How to use a Time Audit to create awareness (not guilt) around how you spend your days
  
  

• The first step to becoming the CEO of your calendar
  
  

• A preview of what’s coming next: the CEO Method to Time Management
  
  

📘 Resources & Links:

• 📥 Download the Free Time Audit Exercise – Get clarity on how you're really spending your time.
  
  

• 💬 DM Andrea what you’ve been saying you “don’t have time” for: @fullyinformedlifecoaching
  
  

• 🚀 Join the Next Chapter Circle Waitlist
  
  

🔔 Don’t Miss What’s Next:

Up next is Part 2—Andrea breaks down how to step into the role of CEO of your calendar using her signature CEO Method: Clarity, Energy, Ownership. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.

💖 Enjoyed the Episode?

If this resonated, share the love by rating and reviewing the show:
👉 ratethispodcast.com/thenextchapterher

When “Me Time” Gets Interrupted: Reclaiming the Moments That Bring You Back to You

Episode Summary:
Let’s be real—me time often feels like a myth. You carve out a quiet moment, light a candle, maybe even start doing something that brings you joy… and then chaos enters stage left (looking at you, Snoopy 🐶).

In this episode, I’m sharing:
✨ The soup story that perfectly captures how “me time” turns into a press conference
✨ The difference between being alone and actually feeling like something is yours
✨ Four common mistakes we make when trying to carve out meaningful time
✨ Why your “me time” doesn’t have to be productive to be powerful
✨ And how to reclaim joy as part of your Journey of You (not just a nice-to-have luxury)

You’ll walk away with:
✔️ Reflection questions to help you rediscover what lights you up
✔️ Practical ways to protect your time without guilt
✔️ A new lens for seeing “joy” not as a task, but as a lifeline

Now I want to hear from you:
What’s one thing you used to love that you want to bring back—on your terms?
DM me or comment on the episode post. Let’s reclaim joy together.

And if this hit home, don’t forget: The Next ChaptHER Circle Spring waitlist is OPEN. It’s your next step if you’re craving clarity, community, and your own roadmap back to J.O.Y. - the journey of you.
📩 Join the waitlist

Loved this episode? Share it with a friend

📱 Screenshot and tag me @fullyinformedlifecoaching and @thenextchapther on Instagram—I’ll reshare and thank you personally!

⭐ And leave a review if you can at https://www.ratethispodcast.com/thenextchapther—it helps more women discover their next chapter.

Until next time, remember: you don’t need permission to protect your peace. You just need a moment that’s yours.

Wide Awake at 3 A.M.? Here’s What Your Brain is Trying to Tell You

We've all been there—staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m., our minds running a marathon of overthinking. Did I lock the front door? Should I have taken that other job? How is it possible that I still don’t have it all figured out? If I dropped this episode at 3 a.m., I bet some of you would actually be awake to listen.

But what if these middle-of-the-night wake-ups aren’t just annoying?

What if they’re actually trying to tell you something?

In this episode, I’m breaking down:

• Why your brain wakes you up at the worst possible time (Hint: It’s science, not sabotage.)
• How to know if your 3 a.m. thoughts are worth listening to (or just late-night nonsense).
• My 3-step clarity check to separate real insights from middle-of-the-night drama.
• What to do next—how to reframe, take small actions, and actually use those wake-up calls to your advantage.

So before you spiral into a rabbit hole of overthinking, let’s turn these 3 a.m. moments into something that moves you forward.

Join the Next ChaptHER Circle!
If you're tired of overthinking and ready to take action, my Next ChaptHER Circle is for you. It’s my group coaching experience designed for women navigating midlife pivots, craving clarity, and looking for a roadmap forward.

The Spring Circle is opening soon—join the waitlist now for early access!

📩 Sign up for the waitlist here: https://fullyinformedlifecoaching.myflodesk.com/z74vft7ew6

Loved this episode? Let’s connect!
💬 DM me on Instagram @thenextchapther or @fullyinformedlifecoaching and tell me what resonated most.
📢 Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it.
⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify—it helps to get this message to other women who need it!